DONALD TRUMP RAISES POSSIBILITY OF DELAYING THE ELECTION

US President Donald Trump on Thursday raised the possibility of delaying the

nation's November 3 presidential election, though the Constitution bestows

that power on Congress, not the president.

The move drew immediate objections from Democrats and it was not clear

whether Mr. Trump was serious.

Mr. Trump has suggested postponing the November 3 Presidential Election in

order to avoid voting by mail, which he has repeatedly called fraudulent,

without basis. Mr. Trump tweeted out his suggestion shortly after news broke

that the U.S. economy had experienced a record level of contraction in the

second quarter of this year.

"With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020

will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a

great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can

properly, securely and safely vote???" Mr. Trump tweeted just after news

emerged that the U.S. economy had shrunk by a post-war record of 32.9% on

an annualized basis as per preliminary estimates from the Bureau of Economic

Analysis.

Minutes prior to tweeting out his suggestion, the President had tweeted that

voting by mail was a "catastrophic disaster".

"Mail-In Voting is already proving to be a catastrophic disaster. Even

testing areas are way off. The Dems talk of foreign influence in voting, but

they know that Mail-In Voting is an easy way for foreign countries to enter

the race. Even beyond that, there's no accurate count!" he said on Thursday.

Changes to Election Day, which, by law, is the Tuesday after the first

Monday in November, can be effected only by changing the law. For this to

happen the U.S. Senate and House - which is controlled by Democrats - would

need to vote for such legislation. "Let's be clear: Trump does not have the

ability to delay the election. Our elections are enshrined in the

Constitution. The Constitution also says that if the date of the election is

to be changed, it must be changed by Congress," Chair of the House Judiciary

Committee, Jerrold Nadler, said on Twitter in response to the President's

tweet.

GOOGLE AND FACEBOOK TO BE FORCED TO SHARE REVENUE WITH MEDIA IN AUSTRALIA

UNDER DRAFT CODE

Facebook and Google will have to pay traditional news media to publish their

content under a new code of conduct developed by the Australian Competition

and Consumer Commission (ACCC) that could be implemented by the end of this

year.

The Federal Government ordered the competition watchdog to develop the

mandatory code of conduct to govern commercial dealings between tech giants

and news media companies.

The draft version of the code has been released by the ACCC and will be open

to consultation until the end of August with legislation expected to be

introduced to Parliament "shortly after" the consultation ends.

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the code would "create a level

playing field" between the two.

"We want Google and Facebook to continue to provide these services to the

Australian community, which are so much loved and used by Australians," he

said.

"But we want it to be on our terms.

The Treasurer will decide which digital platforms are subject to the code,

with Mr Frydenberg saying it will "start with Google and Facebook".

Mr Frydenberg said the code would require designated platforms to "negotiate

in good faith" payment agreements with Australian news companies.

US FUELLING COLD WAR AHEAD OF NOV POLL: CHINA

China on Thursday accused the United States of stoking a new cold war

because certain politicians were searching for a scapegoat to bolster

support ahead of the US presidential election in November.

US President Donald Trump identifies China as the West's main rival, and has

accused President Xi Jinping of taking advantage over trade and not telling

the truth about the Covid outbreak, which Trump calls the "China plague".

Asked if he saw a new cold war, China's ambassador to London, Liu Xiaoming,

said the United States had started a trade war with China and that there

would be no winner from such an approach.

"It is not China that has become assertive. It's the other side of the

Pacific Ocean that wants to start a cold war on China, so we have to make

response to that," Liu told reporters. "We have no interest in any cold war,

we have no interest in any war. We have all seen what is happening in the

United States, they tried to scapegoat China, they want to blame China for

their problems. We all know this is an election year," he said.

NASA MARS ROVER: PERSEVERANCE ROBOT LAUNCHES TO DETECT LIFE ON RED PLANET

The US space agency's Perseverance robot has left Earth on a mission to try

to detect life on Mars.

The one-tonne, six-wheeled rover was launched out of Florida by an Atlas

rocket on a path to intercept the Red Planet in February next year.

When it lands, the Nasa robot will also gather rock and soil samples to be

sent home later this decade.

Perseverance is the third mission despatched to Mars inside 11 days, after

launches by the UAE and China.

Lift-off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station occurred at 07:50 local time

(12:50 BST; 11:50 GMT).

Nasa made this mission one of its absolute priorities when the coronavirus

crisis struck, establishing special work practices to ensure Perseverance

met its launch deadline.

"I'm not going to lie, it's a challenge, it's very stressful, but look - the

teams made it happen and I'll tell you, we could not be more proud of what

this integrated team was able to pull off here, so it's very, very

exciting," Administrator Jim Bridenstine told reporters.

Perseverance is being targeted at a more-than 40km-wide, near-equatorial

bowl called Jezero Crater.

Satellite images suggest this held a lake billions of years ago.

POMPEO INSISTS CHINA 'TIDE IS TURNING' AT CONTENTIOUS US SENATE HEARING

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo insisted on Thursday the "tide is turning"

in dealings with China, citing international support for Washington's

policies even as he expressed "dismay" at the number of countries supporting

Beijing's new security law for Hong Kong.

Reflecting rising tensions between the world's two largest economies, Pompeo

stressed President Donald Trump's tough line on China at a Senate Foreign

Relations Committee hearing in which he repeatedly clashed with lawmakers

over administration policies.

It was Pompeo's first public testimony before the panel in 15 months.

"Under your watch, the United States has faced setback after setback on the

world stage, ceding leverage and influence to our stated adversaries," said

Senator Bob Menendez, the committee's ranking Democrat.

Pompeo said other countries are supporting initiatives like the push not to

use Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies' equipment in 5G networks and

stepped-up maritime maneuvers in the South China Sea.

"Our vigorous diplomacy has helped lead an international awakening to the

threat of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party). Senators, the tide is turning,"

Pompeo said.

CHINA CONDUCTS DRILLS IN SOUTH CHINA SEA

Beijing recently conducted "high-intensity" naval exercises in the South

China Sea, China's Defence Ministry said on Thursday, as tensions grow over

the Asian power's manoeuvres in the contested waters.

China's expanding military presence in the region has worried several of its

neighbours, while the U.S. has vowed to stand up against Beijing's

territorial claims to much of the South China Sea, including the contested

Paracel Islands.

Chinese H-6G and H-6J jet bombers carried out "high-intensity training, and

completed day-and-night training exercises in taking off and landing,

long-range assault, and attacks on sea targets," Defence Ministry spokesman

Ren Guoqiang said at a virtual press conference.

Mr. Ren said the exercises were part of routine training and had "achieved

the expected results", without giving their specific location.

China - which is locked in disputes with neighbours including India, Japan

and Vietnam over islands in the South China Sea - has infuriated other

nations by building artificial islands with military installations in parts

of the sea.

EU, IN FIRST-EVER CYBER SANCTIONS, HITS RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE

The European Union on Thursday slapped sanctions on six people and three

organisations, including Russia's military intelligence agency, accusing

them of responsibility for several cyber-attacks that threatened EU

interests.

EU headquarters said in a statement that those targeted include people

considered to be involved in the 2017 "WannaCry" ransomware attack, the

"NotPetya" strike that notably caused havoc in Ukraine, and the "Operation

Cloud Hopper" hacking campaign.

The sanctions are the first that the EU has ever imposed for cyber-attacks.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that "the measures concerned are

a travel ban and asset freeze to natural persons and an asset freeze to

entities or bodies. It is also prohibited to directly or indirectly make

funds available to listed individuals and entities or bodies."

Four members of Russia's GRU military intelligence agency were singled out.

The EU accuses them of trying to hack the wifi network of the

Netherlands-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons,

which has probed the use of chemical weapons in Syria. The 2018 attack was

foiled by Dutch authorities.

Two Chinese nationals were also targeted over "Operation Cloud Hopper,"

which the EU said hit IT systems in companies on six continents, including

Europe, and "gained unauthorized access to commercially sensitive data,

resulting in significant economic loss."

HONG KONG DISQUALIFIES 12 DEMOCRATS FROM ELECTION

Hong Kong's government said on Thursday 12 pro-democracy candidates had been

disqualified from running for election to the legislature, citing opposition

to a new national security law imposed by Beijing, but denied infringing

civil rights.

Disqualified candidates included pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong, some

members of the Civic Party, a moderate, old-guard opposition group, and

others who won an unofficial "primary" vote held by the opposition camp this

month.

The move is sure to infuriate supporters of democracy, a month after

Communist Party rulers in Beijing announced the national security law that

reins in dissent in the semi-autonomous city. It could also steer China

further onto a collision path with the West.

The government said there could be more disqualifications.

Critics said the move sought to curb the ascendancy of a young, more defiant

generation of pro-democracy activists after an overwhelming win in last

year's lower-level district council elections.

"Clearly, #Beijing shows a total disregard for the will of the #Hongkongers,

tramples upon the citys last pillar of vanishing autonomy and attempts to

keep #HKs legislature under its firm grip," Mr. Wong tweeted.